Alternative to Bleach?

[3LilChickadees]

We bought a used coop from our neighbors, mostly out of charity, partly thinking having SOMETHING was better than starting from scratch. Although, we are basically rebuilding it.

The inside is DISGUSTING. We will definitely be doing a thorough cleaning and sanitizing wash before our pullets move in. I have a personal aversion to bleach. In our home we use hydrogen peroxide, which thanks to covid I know is CDC approved. Does it (or anything else) get a thumbs up from the chicken industry? This is for a 4H farm project, so we are following "best practices" to begin with. I will use bleach if I have to. When the project is over in September, we will have more leeway to be more practical and less technical. (Such as goodbye industry feed and hello free range, fermented feed, and permaculture!)

 

[Nor-Cal Chickens]

Maybe vinegar?

 

[AprilsZoo]

Hydrogen Peroxide degrades into water and oxygen as it evaporates. After use, any surface will be disinfected but as harmless as if you’d only used water. To be effective, it needs to wet the surface, and air-dry for (ideally) >10 minutes. Of course, any clumps of detritus (poop, etc) must be cleaned/scraped off prior to disinfection.

Personally (assuming it’s wood), I would also sand it, and probably coat it with minimum 3-4 coats of polyurethane-type lacquer/varnish... or if (color) painting it, choose an oil-based primer (such as KILZ), followed by multiple coats of a high gloss exterior ENAMEL-type paint. *Look for formulas that say low VOCs, if available.*
After painting, you’ll need to let the coop air-out. How long depends on what you used— low VOC formulas need minimal air-out... just a couple days is plenty. Traditional formulas need longer— Oil based enamel= 10-14 days; water-based= 5-7 days. (Don’t count the primer... that will be sealed in by the top coats.) Typically, oil-based products last longer with less chance of peeling or flaking. Any paint will blister if applied over a wet surface, or if water gets behind the surface somehow. You can minimize this by applying extra coats to the cut edges to seal them (especially ply or wafer-board/OSB).

Honestly, if you are painting or coating with poly, you really only need to scrape, sand, wipe with tack-cloth, and paint away. The enamel or poly coating will seal the surface and any potential pathogens will be trapped under the enamel/polyurethane. If you’re skeeved-out at the thought of possible germs existing somehow under your paint, then by all means, go ahead and peroxide away. Just be sure to let it dry really well before coating/painting. I’d wanna wait til the next day, probably.

Have fun... Good luck!

 

[aart]

The inside is DISGUSTING.

Please post pics of the filth.

 

[Aunt Tat]

How about Oxyclean Wood cleaner to get the BIG stuff off?
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Scotts-...r-Cleaners-51060C1/205546056#product-overview

 

[AprilsZoo]

How about Oxyclean Wood cleaner to get the BIG stuff off?
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Scotts-...r-Cleaners-51060C1/205546056#product-overview

Hard to say w/o pix. But for most things, it’s gonna be easier in the long run to scrape off as much as possible while it’s dry (nothing like goopy, reconstituted chicken poop— ick!) and then use a sanding block or orbital sander to get down to the bare wood before painting.

Btw— make sure to wear a good, well-fitted, dust-filtering mask while sanding. Never a good idea to breathe in powdered bird feces.

 

[3LilChickadees]

This is what my coop looks like inside. The roof leaks and the door is just mesh, so all this gets wet, too. We moved it into our yard from the neighbors, so my husband week be leveling and stabilizing the floor. I managed to find N95 masks to work on the inside while my husband fixes the roof. I still have a month, so plenty of time to clean, hose down, sand and paint before it's needed.

Thanks for the information!

 

[AprilsZoo]

This is what my coop looks like inside. The roof leaks and the door is just mesh, so all this gets wet, too. We moved it into our yard from the neighbors, so my husband week be leveling and stabilizing the floor. I managed to find N95 masks to work on the inside while my husband fixes the roof. I still have a month, so plenty of time to clean, hose down, sand and paint before it's needed.

Thanks for the information!

Nice that you’re planning so far ahead to get things done right.

The wood walls in your coop are called OSB (if you didn’t know) .Its kind of a cross between plywood and particle board. It’s used a lot in home construction, but it’s usually covered by something else— siding, stucco, shingles/shakes, or the like.
Anyway, I’m assuming your coop isn’t built like a house, lol... so you’ll want to make sure that it is coated inside & out with a really good exterior paint. As I mentioned before, I like enamel paint because it is really, *really* durable. It is however a glossy finish by nature. That makes it ideal for the interior of the coop. It’s a very hard plastic-like surface that is really easy to hose off, or scrub, or even scrape. It can be sanitized really well, too.
For the outside, just choose a good house paint in whatever finish you like. Then make sure you caulk any place water might try to seep in between. Or any cut edge— like anywhere you have openings for ventilation. Consider adding more ventilation if it doesn’t have much. Even in cold climates you need good ventilation, so that moisture can escape... Birds really give off a lot of moist air. Trapped moisture in cold temps leads to frost bitten chickens.
Look around the forum for examples of predator-proof ventilation. It involves hardware cloth & wood strips as a frame to hold it in place.

Good luck. Glad you found n95 masks. Good ones have always been pricy, even before the pandemic.

 

[BDutch]

I dont like using cleaners or paints that are bad for the environment. There are good alternatives that do no harm to nature or you’re chickens.

I rather use ecological cleaning like using organic dishwasher soap, use a steamer or whatever it takes to clean. After letting it dry I would use a eco ‘paint’ like xyhlo with linseed oil for the outside and a natural lime paint or a ‘paint’ made from diatomaceous earth to give some protection against red mite on the inside.

Wood and even OSB will only rot if it remains moist after a rain shower or where it makes contact with the ground. Place the coop on a brick foundation and make the new roof a lot bigger than the coop . With a good construction and good ventilation the wood doesn’t need much protection.

 

[aart]

This is what my coop looks like inside.

Is that solid poop?
Scrape it down to expose the floor.
Hopefully the roof leak didn't cause any rot.

More pics when you get a chance.